Vow of Silence

I had lunch last week with a friend who rocks my world.

She is about the funniest “say it like it is” sister I have. The things that get into her brain and come out her mouth just make me smile. Seriously. She can be deep one second and then hilarious the next. I adore her.

With her permission, I am sharing this with you.

While she can be the life of the party, her husband isn’t as social and not much of a talker. A case of opposites attract, I guess. She knows she is loved, but has had to accept that he’s not an engaging husband and it’s been difficult at times.

After several attempts and ploys to encourage him to communicate with her, she decided to take “a vow of silence.”

She told him she was not going to talk to him unless he began talking to her. What sparked this was a thought that maybe she was talking too much so he was unable to get a word in.

So she simply went… silent. :0

And guess what. He began to initiate conversation with her. Now, not as much as she hoped for… but it’s a start! When she stopped talking, she was able to hear him speak.

Wow. This is a GREAT example of our relationship with God.

I don’t know if you are the same way, but when I have my “time” with Him… I have a tendency to just jabber away.

I ask for this and comment on that.

I suggest outcomes for certain struggles and complain about people or situations that frustrate me.

I ask for clarification and direction.

I… I… I… Bleh. Sometimes that word makes my stomach turn.

Listening to my friend share the results of her “experiment” encouraged me to create one of my own. From today through Friday… I’m going to take a vow of silence from begging, asking, directing, suggesting and complaining to God.

I’m simply going to be available to… listen to Him speak.

God knows my heart. So the daily “stuff” I struggle with will still be before the throne. I’m not going to do away with “our” time together. That time is vital for me.

No.

I’m just going to spend my “time” with God with my mouth… closed. This could be interesting…. ;P

I might listen to some praise music

I might read the Bible

I might listen to a sermon online

I might just sit in silence and clear my mind

My plan is to stay quiet and instead listen for His voice… expectantly.

I wonder…

Do you also find that you talk to (or at) God more than you listen for His voice?

Do you purge all you’re thinking and feeling and then move on to the next thing on your “to-do” list without giving Him a chance to weigh in on the situation?

Do you wait for His direction or do you just share your plan of action… hoping He’ll bless it.

Yeah… me too sometimes.

Let’s do it differently this week! How about refraining from blabbing away in your quiet time and instead give Him the floor to speak without interruption.

That’s a good question. I think for me, the idea is to let go of my own agenda and be open and available to hear Him. I wonder how often I hinder the communication because it becomes all about me. This exercise isn’t designed to change anything about my relationship with Him… except to allow me to hear Him better.

I’m in!! Apparently this message is straight to me from the lips of God bc I JUST – 45 minutes ago – read the same thing from Priscilla Shirer…. I thought “hmmmm cool concept! I’ve heard of people doing that before….” Well, 45 minutes later I’m getting the same message from you, Carey! I don’t take that as coincidence!! That is a message straight from God to get me to shut it! He might actually have something to say to me!!!

I accepted the challenge and so I’ve been listening… and woke up this morning laughing. Everytime I woke up in the night I just prayed, ‘I’m listening’. When I woke up there was a song in my head, one I haven’t heard in years. I think it’s the Pretenders, and goes “I’m not the kind of girl who gives up just like that oh, no-o o. The tide is high but I’m holding on, I’m gonna be your number one….” Do you know the song? God is very funny – and completely hit His mark!

This is so good. Thank you for sharing. I once took a vow of silence with my husband too. On prompting from the Lord, I felt I needed to learn the power of “shutting up”. I have never forgotten that lesson. Now I try not to share every little thought I have about every little subject or issue that might come up. This has given him so much more peace. My husband isn’t much of a communicator either and the more I would talk about something, the less he would have to say, and the more stressed he would become about the issue.

I love your application with time with the Lord. I think I will put that into practice as well.

Meet Carey

Hi! I'm Carey -- a speaker, author and life coach honest about my life and faith, stumbles, fumbles and all. My ministry focuses on helping women untangle their self-worth from the "I'm-not good enough" messages and reminding them of their immeasurable value. Because when a woman knows her value, she is freed up to live with purpose and joy.